1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to pepper mills, and more particularly pertains to a battery powered cordless electric pepper mill. Various conventional pepper mills utilize a variety of mechanical mechanisms for grinding pepper corns. These prior art devices are relatively cumbersome to manipulate and do not produce uniform pepper flakes. In order to overcome this problem, the present invention provides a cordless, rechargeable pepper mill which utilizes a gear reduction unit to provide an improved grinding operation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of pepper mills are known in the prior art. A typical example of such a pepper mill is to be found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,688,448, which issued to H. Lenz on Sept. 7, 1954. This patent discloses a hand crank driven pepper mill utilizing a frusto conical rotary mill disposed within a fluted cylindrical seat. U.S. Pat. No. 3,371,874, which issued to S. Reeves et al on Mar. 5, 1968, discloses a manually manipulable pepper mill utilizing a helically fluted mill disposed within a fluted seat. U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,779, which issued to P. Mills et al on Oct. 24, 1978, discloses a battery powered stirring implement for crushing various dried spices. U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,698, which issued to T. David on Apr. 9, 1985, discloses a manually operable pepper mill having a frusto conical mill mounted within a cylindrical seat. The device includes a reciprocal operating lever and a one-way clutch for transmitting rotary force to the grinding mill. U.S. Pat. No. 4,771,955, which issued to J. Paulson on Sept. 20, 1988, discloses a pepper mill provided with an end closure for releasably closing the outfeed opening against unintentional discharge of ground pepper. The device utilizes a tapering mill provided with a circumferential array of alternating flutes and lands mounted for rotation within a tapering seat.
While the above mentioned devices are directed to pepper mills, none of these devices disclose a cordless, battery operated, rechargeable pepper mill which utilizes a recharging unit provided with a cylindrical recess dimensioned for frictional engagement with a cylindrical end portion of the pepper mill housing. An additional feature of the present invention, not contemplated by the aforesaid prior art devices, include the provision of a frusto conical rotary mill provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced alternating trapezoidal flutes and lands mounted for rotation with a minimum clearance within an oppositely tapering frusto conical seat. Inasmuch as the art is relatively crowded with respect to these various types of pepper mills, it can be appreciated that there is a continuing need for and interest in improvements to such pepper mills, and in this respect, the present invention addresses this need and interest.